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Gloria Dump
Otis is the sole employee at the Naomi pet shop Gertrude’s Pets. He’s a shy, quiet man who wears his black hair slicked back on his head. He offers Opal a job sweeping the shop after the parrot Gertrude decides that Winn-Dixie is an acceptable companion. Despite his awkwardness with people, Otis is exceptional at dealing with animals. He’s a skilled guitarist and regularly gets all the animals in the store out of their cages so he can play for them—and the animals sit still and listen to him. Otis confides in Opal that he does this because he understands what it’s like to be locked up, since he’s been in jail. This gives Opal pause, as she’s been taught that it’s dangerous to hang out with criminals. Despite this, Otis never behaves in a way that concerns Opal. Eventually, Opal asks why Otis was in jail and he’s more than happy to tell his story. He used to play guitar on the street because he believes that music is meant to be heard by others—but the police asked him to stop, and when they tried to arrest him, Otis punched an officer. In the novel’s present, he exclusively plays for the animals at the pet shop because the police made him promise to never play on the streets. Hearing his story turns Otis into a far more sympathetic character for Opal, and she eventually begins to consider him a friend. She convinces him to come to the party she throws at Gloria’s house, and the other guests are instrumental in encouraging Otis to play music for humans for the first time in years. Playing for people makes Otis glow with happiness.
Otis Quotes in Because of Winn-Dixie
The Because of Winn-Dixie quotes below are all either spoken by Otis or refer to Otis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8 Quotes
All of a sudden, I felt happy. I had a dog. I had a job. I had Miss Franny Block for a friend. And I had my first invitation to a party in Naomi. It didn’t matter that it came from a five-year-old and the party wasn’t until September. I didn’t feel so lonely anymore.
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Chapter 12 Quotes
I waved at the woman on the porch and she waved back, and I watched Sweetie Pie run off to tell her mama about Otis being a magic man. It made me think about my mama and how I wanted to tell her the story about Otis charming all the animals. I was collecting stories for her.
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Chapter 14 Quotes
“Why are all those bottles on it?”
“To keep the ghosts away,” Gloria said.
“What ghosts?”
“The ghosts of all the things I done wrong.”
I looked at all the bottles on the tree. “You did that many things wrong?” I asked her.
“Mmmm-hmmm,” said Gloria. “More than that.”
“But you’re the nicest person I know,” I told her.
“Doesn’t mean I haven’t done bad things,” she said.
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Chapter 19 Quotes
I swept the floor real slow that day. I wanted to keep Otis company. I didn’t want him to be lonely. Sometimes, it seemed like everybody in the world was lonely. I thought about my mama.
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Chapter 25 Quotes
“Well,” said Gloria Dump. “We didn’t do nothin’. We just sat here and waited and sang some songs. We all got to be good friends. Now. The punch ain’t nothin’ but water and the egg-salad sandwiches got tore up by the rain. You got to eat them with a spoon if you want egg salad. But we got pickles to eat. And Littmus Lozenges. And we still got a party going on.”
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Get the entire Because of Winn-Dixie LitChart as a printable PDF.
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Otis Character Timeline in Because of Winn-Dixie
The timeline below shows where the character Otis appears in Because of Winn-Dixie. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
...that the owner wouldn’t like it. He looks down. Opal notices that his nametag reads “Otis.”
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...that her dog, Winn-Dixie, would need to come in with her though, otherwise he’ll howl. Otis says that Gertrude doesn’t like dogs—the parrot is named Gertrude, after the store’s owner. Opal...
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...the two animals stare at each other. After a minute, Gertrude lands on Winn-Dixie’s head. Otis says that Opal can start on Monday. As Opal and Winn-Dixie leave the shop, Opal...
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Chapter 10
...turtle shell. Opal talks about finding Winn-Dixie, meeting Miss Franny, and getting a job with Otis at Gertrude’s Pets. She talks about her excitement for Sweetie Pie’s birthday and how Dunlap...
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Chapter 12
...notice that all the animals are out of their cages, still as statues, listening to Otis play the guitar and tap his boots. Winn-Dixie gets a dreamy expression and then lies...
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When the animals are back where they belong, Otis looks down and explains that he plays music for them since it makes them happy....
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...She announces that she saw all the animals out of their cages and asks if Otis is magic. Sweetie Pie takes her knuckle out of her mouth, takes Opal’s hand, and...
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Chapter 13
Every day, Opal and Winn-Dixie get up early so they can listen to Otis play at Gertrude’s Pets. Sometimes Sweetie Pie joins them and sits rocking Winn-Dixie. When the...
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...so that the preacher will shame Opal in front of the church. He hisses that Otis was in jail and is mentally disabled, but Opal insists that the preacher already knows.
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Chapter 14
Opal sometimes tells Miss Franny’s most recent story to Gloria . Sometimes she imitates Otis playing for the animals, and other times, Opal makes a story up. Gloria shares that...
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...has to judge them based on what they’re doing now. She suggests that Opal judge Otis by his music and how kindly he treats the animals, and that Opal not judge...
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Chapter 17
...in the candy. Opal asks if she can have Littmus Lozenges to take to Gloria, Otis, the preacher, and Sweetie Pie. She stuffs her pockets, checks out Gone with the Wind,...
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Chapter 18
...baby. Opal says she did, but only because Stevie calls Gloria a witch and calls Otis bad names. The preacher says that Opal needs to apologize, since she hurt Stevie’s feelings...
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Chapter 19
When Winn-Dixie and Opal get to the pet store the next morning, Opal gives Otis a Littmus Lozenge. He asks if it’s Halloween and awkwardly accepts the candy. When he...
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Otis says that the police came and told him to stop, since he was breaking the...
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...and like not having a dog. Opal sweeps the floor slowly so she can keep Otis company and help him be less lonely. She thinks that everyone in the world is...
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Chapter 20
Opal tells Gloria about how Otis got arrested, which makes Gloria laugh so hard she almost loses her false teeth. She...
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...book shut and says that’s what they need to do: throw a party and invite Otis, Miss Franny, the preacher, and Sweetie Pie. She suggests they have the party in Gloria’s...
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...is. She hugs Winn-Dixie and suggests they make it a dog theme. When Opal invites Otis, he says no—he doesn’t like parties. Opal promises to work for free for a week...
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Chapter 21
...When Opal hears Gertrude shrieking, she goes to the front of the house and finds Otis with his guitar and a huge jar of pickles. She assures him that there aren’t...
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Chapter 22
Before Otis can run away, Opal introduces him to the preacher. The preacher puts out a hand...
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Chapter 23
...back out to help Gloria. Opal looks around at the soggy decorations and notices that Otis is still standing in the rain with his jar of pickles. She yells for him...
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Chapter 25
...and clapping a block away from Gloria’s house. When they enter Gloria’s kitchen, they see Otis playing his guitar while everyone else claps and sings. Opal can’t believe that they’re so...
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...says that she and Franny talked about the songs they knew from childhood. They got Otis to play them, since he can pick up any tune if someone hums it. They...
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Chapter 26
...Franny passes Opal the bowl of Littmus Lozenges and Opal eats one. She turns down Otis’s proffered pickle. Winn-Dixie leans into Opal, who leans into the preacher. Amanda doesn’t look mean...
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